Superbowl LVIII confirmed we’ll be seeing Wolverine (return of Hugh Jackman!) back on the big screen in Deadpool 3 and on the small screen in X-Men 97 later this year. With all the Wolverine hype and with GoCollect starting to track foreign comic sales, what better time for the return of the Completionist Collectors’ series? Here is your guide to collecting Wolverine #1 (1982), Wolverine's first solo series, the first cameo of Yukio, and the first appearance of Shingen Harada.
The four-issue miniseries was created by now legends Chis Claremont, Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein. The 1982 series allowed Miller to take his interest in ninjas that he had developed on "Daredevil" (and was about to carry over to "Ronin" for DC Comics) and apply it to Wolverine, as Wolverine travels to Japan and fights a whole bunch of ninjas in this comic book series, which really embraced the "Wolverine as samurai" take that Claremont and Byrne had begun to set up during the X-Men's first trip to Japan (Claremont and Byrne were both fans of "Shogun"). Yet surprisingly, as reported by Matt Tuck - this book is leading the 10-day cold list https://gocollect.com/blog/coldest-comics-wolverine-and-a-galaxy-far-far-away-from-buyers
Despite the current trending price, this cover is iconic and perfectly captures Patches / Wolverine's brash sprit. It is one of most famous and popular images of Wolverine.
Fun facts:
1) It is speculated that the cover was based on Frank Sinatra's Come Dance With Me album cover (1959). The finger and scrunched face are uncanny! Do you think Miller used this album as a reference?
2) Hugh Jackman did an homage to the iconic cover as a promotion for the X-Men (2000) film but went unused. Now might be the perfect time to redo this photo, but in the yellow uniform.
America
Direct (1982), Newsstand (1982), Wolverine DVD measures 5 3/4" x 4 1/2" (2013), True Believers (2019), Fascimile (2020), Clayton Crain Fascimile ltd 3000 (2020), and Unmasked Clayton Crain Fascimile ltd 1000(2020),
Fascimile (2023), Foil Fascimile (2023)
Canada
Komikai Micro Comics Ultimate Marvel #70—Wolverine 1 (Spin Master, 2005). Some sources suggest there is a Canadian Price Variants, where the price shows 75 cents instead of the normal 60 cents. However, I could find no images online. We do know there are Canadian Price Variants for issues 2 to 4.
Brazil
Wolverine #1 (Editora Abril, 1987), Wolverine Hardcover (Editora Abril, 1988), and A Coleção Oficial de Graphic Novels Marvel #4 (Salvat, 2015)
Sweden
Maxx #12 (Epix, 1986)
United Kingdom
The Mighty World of Marvel #5 (Marvel UK, 1983), and The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection #4 (Hachette Partworks, 2012)
Mexico
Marvel Clasicos #17( Marvel Mexico, 2009) Wolverine Foil #1 (Marvel Mexico, 2017), and La Historia Visual Encyclopedia of Marvel History: 1980 - 1984 (DK, 2021)
Italy
Marvel Legends #10 (Panini, 2018), and Integrale X-Men 26 (Panini, 2021)
Finland
Ryhma X: N Wolverine Irrallaan (1986)
Netherlands
Limited Serie #2 (Juniorpress, 1985)
Denmark
Wolverine (GFloyStudio, 2004) - This book was published and translated by a Foreign Comic Collector member!
Portugal
Wolverine (Devir, 2003), Volume 29: Wolverine (Marvel Portugal, 2016), and Marvel Essencias (Panini, 2022)
Hungary
Wolverine (FU Max, 2007)
Spain
Wolverine #1 Lobenzo (Ediciones Forum, 1994), and Marvel Must Have: Lobenzo Honor (Panini, 2022)
Ecuador
Wolverine #4 (El Universo Publishing, date not found) - This book uses the Savage Wolverine titled font.
Russia
Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #6 (Hachette, 2014)
Related
Best of Wolverine (2004), Omnibus (2009), Omnibus alternate cover (2009), X-Men: Legacy #223 Wolverine Art Appreciation Variant (2009)
Wolverine Hardcover (2006)
Wolverine (2013), Wolverine recoloured (2013), Wolverine Deluxe (2022)
Wolverine Limited Series #1 Dynamic Forces Exclusive (2018) - This book is a reprint of the single issue with a new variant cover by Alan Davis.
Impel Universe #133 Most Valuable Comics Wolverine (1990)
Homages
Being a classic cover - I will limit this to Marvel and Wolverine-related covers. Covers that are close, aka have a face shot of Wolverine with a one-handed claw but not egging you on with the opposite hand, will be excluded.
Wolverine Williams Variant #23 (2022)
Weapon X #1 (2002), Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture #157 (Wizard, 2004), Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #5 (2007), Deadpool Merc with a Mouth #10 (2010), Marvel Comics: Avengers Arena #14 (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy #3 (2013), X-Men Lego Castellani Variant #5 (2013), X-Men Sketch Leo Castellani Variant #5 (2013), Back Issue! #132 (TwoMorrows, 2021), X-Treme X-Men Jungeun Yoon Variant #5 (2022), Wolverine Vol 7 Adi Granov Variant #29 (2023)
![X-men #5 [Lego Castellani Var]](https://img.gocollect.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJnb2NvbGxlY3QuaW1hZ2VzLnB1YiIsImtleSI6IjhmNjQ2NGZkLWY0ZTgtNDgzMS04MDMxLTNlNWY4NTY2YzE1OC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjYwMH19fQ==)
![X-men #5 [Lego Castellani Sketch Var]](https://img.gocollect.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJnb2NvbGxlY3QuaW1hZ2VzLnB1YiIsImtleSI6IjgxMGQ0MzljLWIzODYtNDNiYS1iZWRkLWNmMTI5YTQ0NjAyMy5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjYwMH19fQ==)
Conclusion
How many of these do you have? Did I miss any, leave a note in the comments! Check out this set from Reddit
A reminder that this is based on the cover, so editions that feature the same stories but don't feature Wolverine #1 are excluded from this guide. For example, the Danish, Norwegian, and French books won't be included even though they are the first time the content is featured in its respective country and use covers from the other issues of the limited series.
Jærven Oneshot (Danish edition - Semic Interpresse, 1987)
If you already have completed this set you may want to get it signed by the ENTIRE creative team as it is Wolverine's 50th anniversary, and CGC is offering a special in-house signing event. Get your books in before Friday, April 19, 2024, and be the first to have a signed completionist set!
